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Thursday, September 30, 2010

Paris Show: Toyota Targets Honda Jazz / Fit with New Verso-S MPV

Toyota is re-entering the European small MPV segment with a new model called the Verso-S, which made its debut at the Paris Motor Show today. Set to go on sale across Europe from February 2011, the Verso-S is a spiritual successor to the Yaris Verso and targets cars like the Honda Jazz / Fit and Kia Venga.

The five-seater Verso-S is less than 4 meters long (3,990 mm). However, it compensates with a relatively long, 2,550 mm wheelbase. In addition, Toyota claims that careful attention to detail has maximized spaciousness and as a result, the Verso-S offers "front seat headroom, rear seat roominess and luggage capacity to rival that of C-segment cars."

In the practicality category, the Verso-S gets numerous cup holders and pockets as well as a three-level, dashboard storage compartment and 60:40 split rear seats featuring a center armrest and a one-touch, fold-flat mechanism.

The 760 mm long boot floor incorporates a lightweight, two-stage cargo deck board that can be positioned either at bumper level for a 336 liter cargo volume, or lowered to increase the loadspace depth by 95 mm and the cargo volume to 393 liters. With the rear seats folded flat, the total load-space volume increases to a maximum of 1,388 litres.

Another highlight of the interior is a new, 6.1 inch, full color, Touch Screen Multimedia system incorporating an AM/FM radio, a CD/MP3 player, Bluetooth mobile phone connectivity, a USB port for the connection of portable music players and the facility to display iPod album cover art, and a rear parking camera.

The Verso-S will be available with a choice of two engines, a 1.33-liter gasoline unit or a 1.4-liter D-4D turbo diesel, both mated, as standard, to 6-speed manual gearboxes. The 1. petrol engine may also be equipped with an optional, Multidrive S, continuously variable transmission which features a 7-speed, sequential paddle shift mode.